Freezing tray



1967 A. J. FREI, SR. ETAL 3,355,138

FREEZING TRAY 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 8, 1965 INVENTORS ARTHUR J. FRE'I 5R.

F/FA/V/(l/N E. MEP/CA ATTORNEY Nov. 28, 1967 A.J. FREL- SR, ETAL- FREEZ ING TRAY 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 5, 1965 INVENTORS J. FRE/ 5R. FRANKLIN f. MFR/CA ARTHUR ATTORNEY Ndv. 28, 1967 .ACJf-FREI, sR.. ETAL 3,355,138

FREEZ ING TRAY Filed Jun. 23, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet C INVENTORS ART/l0 J. FRE/ 57?. FRANKLIN E. MER/CA 'ATTORNEY Nov. 28, 1967 A. J. FREI, sR.. ETAL 5,

FREEZING TRAY Filed Jan. 8, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A T TORNE Y mm m R NEE wim m J.- R/ m m- M Nov. 28, 1967 A. J. FREI, SR. ETAL. 3,355,138

FREEZ ING TRAY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 8, 1965 INVENTORS FRE/ SR. FRANKLIN E. MER/CA ARTHUR J.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 23, 55,1 "FREEZING TRAY tArthufi J. Friei, Sr., Dayton; and Franklin E. Merica, Fairf born, Ohio; assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 424,321 Claims. (Cl. 249-71) This invention pertains to freezing trays and more particularly to an arrangement for preserving the ease of removal of cubes from .such trays.

Many devices have been made in the attempt to provide easy harvesting of ice cubes from trays. The coating of the pans and grids which began about 30 years ago was a big step forward. The coating materials which originally were simple waxes, have been considerably improved in quality and variety. Although the newer coatings remain effective for longer usage than the original waxes, they still gradually lose their effectiveness lon before they or the refrigerator in which they are used are obsolete.

We have found that one reason the coatings lose their effectiveness is the scraping action of the movable ele ments of the grids upon the adjacent walls of the tray or pan. It has been customary to allow the grids to'rest by gravity upon the bottom of the tray or pan to minimize the area of ice bridges between the cubes for making it easier to break the bond between the cubes and for increasing the conduction between the tray and the grid to reduce the freezing time when the trays are supported on a refrigerated surface. Consequently, the movement of the elements of the grid scrapes the contacted surfaces of the tray or pan.

It is an object of this invention to prolong the effectiveness of the coating of freezing trays by providing sufficient clearance between the movable parts of the grid and the pan to prevent rubbing and scraping of the coating.

It is another object of this invention to prolong the effectiveness of the coating of the tray or pan by suspending the grid and especially the movable parts thereof above the bottom of the pan so that they will not rest by gravity upon the bottom of the pan and will not rub or scrape the coating.

It is another object of this invention to provide the pan or freezing tray with a new support for suspending the movable parts of the grid above the bottom of the pan.

These and other objects are attained in the forms shown in the drawings in which the longitudinal wall or walls of the grid are suspended above the bottom of the tray by plastic members fastened to the end walls of the tray. These plastic members are provided with suitable grooves or'ledges for supporting such longitudinal walls at the proper elevation to raise the movable bar and the transverse walls sufiiciently high to provide ample clearance between their lower edges and the bottom of the pan or tray to prevent the rubbing and scraping of the coatings on the pan as well as the grid. In another form the lower longitudinal wall of the grid may be fixed to the ends of the pan or tray at a sufl'lcient height to support the movable transverse walls at a suflicient distance from the bottom of the tray to provide clearance between their lower edges and the bottom of the tray or pan at all times.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of a freezing tray embodying one form of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of the tray shown in FIGURE 1 taken along the lines 2-2 thereof;

*rs's suss Patented Nov. 28, 1967 FIGURE 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the lines 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective exploded view of one of the grid supports and its holding spring;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of one of the grid supports;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to FIGURE 2 taken substantially along the rear portion of the line 22 of FIGURE 1 showing the grid in the ejecting position with the transverse walls vertical;

FIGURE 8 is a top view of an ice tray provided with a grid having two spaced longitudinal bars to provide 18 cubes;

FIGURE 9 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the lines 9-? of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a transverse upright sectional view taken along lines Ill1t) of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view taken along the lines 11-11 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary, longitudinal vertical sectional view of the rear portion of the tray shown in FIG- URE 8 with the transverse walls vertical taken substantially along the rear portion of the line 99 thereof;

FIGURE 13 is a top view of a third form of ice tray; and

FIGURE 14 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along the line 14-14 of FIGURE 13.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 1-7, there is shown a freezing tray comprising a rectangular pan 20 having a rim 22 extending around the four sides. The rim 22 at the center of the opposite ends is provided with slots 24 (see FIGURE 4) through which extends the tongue 26 of the plastic retainers or pads 28 which are thereby mounted on the rim as shown in these figures. The tongue 26 is provided with an eye 30 through which extends a spring 32 of stainless steel having a central notched portion 34 in the eye 30 which presses downwardly to hold the plastic member 28 firmly in place while the arms 36 bear against the bottom of the rim 22 as shown in FIGURE 4. The plastic retainer 28 is of the configuration best shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 and has a supporting ledge 38 in the bottom of a central notch 40 having upper beveled side and end walls 42. The retainer 28 also has sloping walls 44 at the sides in the rear of the notches which slopes downwardly toward theinside of the pan 20. Surrounding the downwardly sloping portion is a grid 46 which strengthens the retainer 28.

Within the pan 20 is a grid which includes longitudinal walls in the form of a lower bar 48 having notches 50 at its opposite ends which rest on the ledges 38 of the plastic retainers 28 at the opposite ends of the pan 20. The ledge 38 is high enough and holds the ledge 50 and the lower bar 48 high enough to raise the lower ledge '52 above the bottom 5'4 of the tray 20 so as to provide a clearance 55 therebetween which is sufiicient to prevent any rubbing or scraping of any part of the grid upon any part of the tray. The sides of the lower bar or wall 48 have a snug fit in the notch 40 to prevent wobbling or rotation of the wall 48 about its longitudinal axis. Prior to any assembly the pan 20 preferably has its interior coated with polytetrafluoroethylene. In addition to this, the pan 20 is anodized and coated with the coating material disclosed in Patent 3,016,719, issued Jan. 16, 1962.

The lower bar or longitudinal wall 48 slidably supports an upper bar 56 which extends through the vertical slots 60 of the movable transverse dividing walls 62. The lower bar or longitudinal wall 48 also passes through these vertical slots 60. The lower bar 48 has a series of notches 64 in its bottom edge which receive the webs 66 at the bottom of the slots 60 of the transverse wall 62. The upper bar 56 has a series of notches 68 in its upper edge which receive the webs 70 extending across the top of the slots 60 of the transverse wall 62. The 'botttoms of the notches 6 8 support the bottoms of the webs 70 at the top of the slots 60 so as to keep the bottoms of the webs 66 and entire bottom edge 72 of each of the transverse walls 62 away from the bottom 54 of the pan 20 so as to prevent any rubbing or scraping of the coated inner surface of the pan 20. For the purpose of freeing the cubes frozen in the tray or pan 20, the upper bar 56 is moved forwardly relative to the lower bar 48 and the pan 20. This is accomplished by having the front end of the bar 56 connected by a pin 74 and a pair of links 76 to the 'pin 78 on the operating handle 80 which is pivoted by a third pin 82 to a rounded projecting portion 84 at the front end of the lower pair of longitudinal walls 48.

By keeping sufficient clearance between the bottom of the transverse walls 62 and the bottom of the tray 20 and by preventing wobbling of the grid about its longitudinal axis, the rubbing andscratching of the inner coated surface of the pan 20 is effectively prevented. This prolongs the useful life of the coating of the pan 2% and makes the operation of the handle 30 and the loosening and ejecting of the frozen cubes within the pan much easier for a much longer period of time. Since this is a critical factor in the usefulness and long life of a freezing tray, the provision of this clearance is extremely important.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 8 to 12 illustrating the second form of the invention, there is shown a freezing tray with a generally rectangular freezing pan 120 having a rim 122 extending around the four sides. The rim at the middle of the opposite ends is provided with a set of plastic retainers 128 each or which is provided with two longitudinal grooves 138 each of which supports the projecting end portion 140 of one of the two longitudinal lower bars 148. The lower bars 148 diverge downwardly to facilitate the separation of the grid from the cubes. A pair of upper bars 156 ride on top of the pair of lower bars 148. Both the upper and lower bars extend through apertures or vertical slots 160 in the five transverse walls 162. The bottom edges of the lower bars 148 have notches 164 receiving the webs 166 at the bottoms of the transverse walls 162. A centrally located operating handle 180 is pivoted upon the pin 174 to the lower bars 148 to move the transverse walls 162 from the inclined position shown in FIGURE 9 to the vertical position shown in FIGURE 12. The upper bars 156 are each provided with a series of notches 168 which support the upper webs 170 of the transverse walls 162 at a sufiicient height relative to the pan 120 so as to keep them lifted away from the bottom 154 of the pan 120 at all times so as to prevent their scraping of the inner surface of the pan 120. The plastic retainers 128 raise the lower bars 148 sufiiciently above the bottom 154 to prevent their bottom edges from contacting the bottom of the pan 120 and also raise the upper bars 156 sufficiently that the bottom edges of the transverse walls 162 are also kept above the bottom 154 of the pan 120 at all times. The interior of the pan 120 is preferably coated and anodized in the same manner as the tray illustrated in FIGURES l to 7. The plastic retainers 128 at the opposite ends of the tray may be held in any suitable manner. In the form shown, these plastic retainers 128 have integral downwardly extending projections which extend through the apertures 142 in the rim 122 and are riveted over to form rivet heads 144 on the bottom side thereof.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 13 and 14, there is shown a third form of the invention in the form of a freezing tray having a generally rectangular pan 220 similar to that shown in FIGURE 1 having a rim 222 extending around the four sides thereof. The rim at the center of the opposite ends is provided with the slots 224. Extending through a portion .of these slots at both ends of the tray are the Z-shaped projections 225 which extend downwardly from the opposite ends of the longitudinal lower bar 248. The lower bar 248 is normally held fixed in the tray 220 *by the transverse leaf springs 232 which extend between the Z-shaped projection 225 and the lower adjacent face of the rim 222. Through this arrangement the grid is held within the tray 2220 so that it will not fall out even though the tray be inverted.

The upper bar 256 rides upon the lower bar 248 and is provided with the notches 268 in its upper face which support the upper webs 270 of the transverse walls 262 so as to support the transverse walls 262 above the bottom 254 of the tray 220 at all times. The lower bar 248 is similarly provided with notches 264 through which extends the lower Webs 266 of the transverse walls 262. The upper bar 256 is connected by the pin 274 and the links 276 to the transverse pin 278 on the handle 280 which is pivoted upon the pin 282 to an extension 234 of the fixed lower bar 248. In this arrangement the engaging edge the lower bar 248 is raised sufficiently by the bottom of the slots 224 to keep its lower edge spaced from the bottom 254 of the tray and also to keep the upper bar 256 and the transverse walls 262 raised sufficiently relative to the pan 220 that their lower edges will not scrape the inner surface of the pan 220 at any time. The inner surface of the pan 220 is preferably coated and anodized in the same manner as the tray 20 in FIGURES l-7. This type of tray is adapted to be inverted over an ice cube receiving rectangular bucket when the handle is operated for ejection of the cubes.

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A freezing tray including an elongated container pan having opposite ends, a grid for dividing the interior of said pan comprising a longitudinal wall extending longitudinally of said pan and transverse movable walls supported by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely relative to said pan and said longitudinal wall, means for moving said transverse movable walls longitudinally relative to the longitudinal walls, wherein the improvement comprises providing the opposite ends of said pan with means cooperating with said longitudinal wall for supporting said longitudinal wall and said movable walls sufiiciently above the pan to provide a small clearance between the movable walls and said pan during their entire movement for preventing rubbing of said movable walls upon said pan, said last means also comprising means for limiting the rotational movement of said longitudinal wall.

2. A freezing tray including an elongated container pan having opposite ends, a grid for dividing the interior of said pan comprising a longitudinal wall extending longitudinally of said pan and having opposite ends, said grid further including transverse movable walls supported by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely relative to said pan and said longitudinal wall, said longitudinal wall being provided with means for moving said transverse walls longitudinally relative to said longitudinal wall, wherein the improvement comprises providing the opposite ends of said longitudinal wall with means engaging supporting means on said opposite ends of said pan for supporting and moving said transverse movable walls at such an elevated position relative to the bottom of the pan to provide a small clearance between said movable walls and the pan throughout their entire movement for preventing the rubbing of the movable walls upon the pan.

3. A freezing tray including an elongated container pan, a grid for dividing the interior of said pan comprising a lower longitudinal wall extending longitudinally of said pan and transverse movable walls supported by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely relative to said pan and said longitudinal Wall, wherein the improvement comprises providing pads upon the opposite ends of said pan having means for supporting said longitudinal wall at such an elevated position and preventing its rotation relative to the bottom of the pan to provide a small clearance between said movable walls and the pan throughout their entire movement for preventing the rubbing of the movable Walls upon the pan.

4. A freezing tray including an elongated container pan, a grid for dividing the interior of said pan comprising a lower longitudinal wall extending longitudinally of said pan and transverse movable walls supported by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely relative to said pan and said longitudinal wall, wherein the improvement comprises providing pads upon the opposite ends of said pan, each pad having an elevated support and a slot for supporting said longitudinal wall at such an elevated position and preventing its rotation relative to the bottom of the pan to provide a small clearance between said movable Walls and the pan throughout their entire movement for preventing the rubbing of the movable walls upon the pan.

5. A freezing tray including an elongated container pan having a rim at its ends provided with slots, a grid for dividing the interior of said pan comprising a lower longitudinal wall and transverse movable walls supported by said longitudinal wall and extending transversely relative to said pan and said longitudinal wall, means for moving said movable walls longitudinally relative to the longitudinal wall, wherein the improvement comprises providing pads having tongues extending through said slots and means for holding said tongues in said slots, said pads having means for supporting said longitudinal wall at such an elevated position and preventing rotation relative to the bottom of the pan to provide a small clearance between said movable walls and the pan throughout their entire movement for preventing the rubbing of the movable walls upon the pan.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,110,482 3/1938 Geyer 249-71 2,492,583 12/1949 Knupp 24972 2,499,903 3/1950 Carney 24971 X 2,874,553 2/1959 Sharpe et al 249-72 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,032,283 6/1958 Germany.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. E. MAR, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A FREEZING TRAY INCLUDING AN ELONGATED CONTAINER PAN, A GRID FOR DIVIDING THE INTERIOR OF SAID PAN COMPRISING A LOWER LONGITUDINAL WALL EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID PAN AND TRANSVERSE MOVABLE WALLS SUPPORTED BY SAID LONGITUDINAL WALL AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY RELATIVE TO SAID PAN AND SAID LONGITUDINAL WALL, WHEREIN THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING PROVIDING PADS UPON THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID PAN, EACH PAD HAVING AN ELEVATED SUPPORT AND A SLOT FOR SUPPORTING SAID LONGITUDINAL WALL AT SUCH AN ELEVATED POSITION AND PREVENTING ITS ROTATION REALTIVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN TO PROVIDE A SMALL CLEARANCE BETWEEN SAID MOVABLE WALLS AND THE PAN THROUGHOUT THEIR ENTIRE MOVEMENT FOR PREVENTING THE RUBBING OF THE MOVABLE WALLS UPON THE PAN. 